The Incredible Shrinking Acts Group
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Ideally, Goldenberg would like PAC to maintain a presence during the first part of the season while it restructures and prepares a more significant lineup of events for the spring. “Maybe we could do the Vermeer [Quartet] in the fall,” she says. But even that depends on the success of the current fund-raising effort. “We won’t do anything next season unless it is underwritten,” says Lipman. Goldenberg declined to discuss PAC’s deficit, but one source familiar with the organization says it’s well into six figures. Goldenberg did reveal that last season’s bottom line was hurt by the annual gala’s failure to meet expectations and by a presentation (which she wouldn’t name) that fell short of the projected ticket income.
This past season Lipman adjusted the programming mix, hoping to attract larger audiences; she booked less classical music and more theater, dance, and even a film, scheduling longer runs in case positive reviews might enhance box-office revenue. Apparently these changes weren’t enough to put the organization on a stronger footing. In the meantime, PAC’s full-time staff has reportedly shrunk to a grand total of two: Lipman and a bookkeeper.
League of Chicago Theatres board president Robert Perkins is a partner with Jujamcyn in the Royal Group, the presenting entity that manages the Royal George. Perkins has repeatedly denied to sources that any sale of the facility is pending and reportedly has sought at least a couple of bookings for the main stage this spring, including Always…Patsy Cline, which ended up at the Apollo, and a one-man show about Edgar Allan Poe that’s scheduled to open at the Mercury next month. But the 500-seat main stage has been dark since last November, creating a huge revenue drain for both Perkins and Jujamcyn, both of whom may now be interested in activities other than small-venue theater. A long-standing business associate of Perkins says the League president’s interested in the direct-marketing business, and Jujamcyn last week announced a new partnership with the PACE Theatrical Group. Oddly, a New York Times article announcing the Jujamcyn-PACE venture last week omitted Chicago from a list of cities where Jujamcyn operates theaters. When Jujamcyn and Perkins announced their acquisition of the Royal George in spring 1994, they promised an exciting lineup of new works and important transfers to the Chicago market from New York and elsewhere. With the exception of Angels in America, the partnership has brought in little of note, and the end result may be curtains for the Royal George.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): Susan Lipman photo by Nathan Mandell.
